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There are 503 secondary schools in London. Of those, 42 are all-through schools, teaching both primary and secondary years. They are spread across 32 council areas.
Apply by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. You apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
Yes, 19 secondary schools in London select pupils by ability, in Sutton (5), Bexley (4), Barnet (3), Bromley (2), Kingston upon Thames (2), Redbridge (2) and Enfield (1). Entry is by the 11-plus, usually sat in September of Year 6. You register for the test separately, normally in the summer term of Year 5, and still name the school on your council application by 31 October.
Of the 503 secondary schools in London, 408 have a sixth form. Students at a school that stops at 16 apply separately for sixth form, either at another school or at a college.
Of the 503 secondary schools in London, 123 have a religious character: 63 Roman Catholic, 38 Church of England, 8 Jewish, 7 Christian, 3 Sikh, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Hindu, 1 Multi-faith and 1 Muslim. When a faith school has more applicants than places, it can give priority to children of its faith. Many ask for a supplementary form, sometimes signed by a religious leader, so read the school's admissions policy before you apply.
Yes, London has 74 girls' schools and 48 boys' schools. The other 381 are mixed. Some single-sex schools take both boys and girls into the sixth form.
On our star rating, the highest rated are Bexley Grammar School (5.0), Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School (5.0), Eden Girls' School, Waltham Forest (5.0), Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet (5.0) and Richard Challoner School (5.0). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and GCSE results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. Of the 503 schools here, 495 have enough published data for a rating.
Only when you qualify for more than one school. Each school ranks applicants against its own admission criteria without knowing where you placed it. If you qualify for several, the council offers the one you ranked highest, so putting a popular school first does not lower your chances at your second choice.
No. Distance only matters when a school has more applicants than places, and then it offers places in the order its admission criteria set out. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or catchment area. Faith schools and grammar schools use different criteria. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
The council offers a place at another school with room, which may be further from home. You can accept it and still join the waiting lists for the schools you preferred. Waiting lists are ranked by the admission criteria, not by how long a child has been on them. You can also appeal to an independent panel for any school that refused you.